True story: I got a call last week from the Food Network of all places. There is/was a contest going on called the Ultimate Recipe Contest- basically looking for the best recipe in six different categories (chicken, pasta, comfort foods, burgers, cookies and cakes). The casting director had come across my personal website www.somelikeitraw.net and thought that I would be able to come up with some pretty unique recipes for the contest and wanted me to enter some.

I have to admit I was a little flattered and a wee bit surprised. Yet another sign that raw food has hit the mainstream!! Anyways, I’ve entered my manicotti recipe for the ‘Pasta’ category and came up with a new chocolate cake recipe for the ‘Cake’ category which I am sharing with you today.

A lot of people ask where I get my ideas from. It does vary, but many times it’s just looking at a cooked recipe and trying to convert it to raw. This time I happened to have an old Gourmet magazine lying around with a fabulous photo of a chocolate-glazed hazelnut mousse cake on the cover. The light bulbs went off and I set to work on creating it ‘raw-style’. Hope you like it and wish me luck with the contest!

Hazelnut-Chocolate Mousse Cake

Serves 12

Crust:

½ cup shredded dry coconut

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

Pinch of sea salt

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 teaspoon virgin coconut oil

11 tablespoon raw cacao nibs- optional

Place the hazelnuts, shredded coconut, cocoa powder, and salt in a food processor. Process until the hazelnuts are finely ground. Add the agave nectar, virgin coconut oil and optional cacao nibs. Pulse until incorporated and the mixture sticks together when pressed between your fingers. Coco should be (preferably Green&Blacks.)

Line a 7-inch spring form pan with saran wrap. Press the crust mixture into the bottom of the pan. You’ll end up with the crust being approximately ¼ inch thick. Chill the crust in the fridge or freezer while you prepare the filling.

To open the young Thai coconuts, you will need a sharp cleaver. If you need instructions on opening them, visit this link. Try to save some of the coconut water from the insides of the coconuts- it’s delicious to drink and I use it in the recipe. If you don’t manage to save any, regular water can be used.

Cacao butter is basically pure, ‘white chocolate’. It can be hard to find in stores and usually has to be ordered online Organic Living Food. Agave nectar is widely available in health food stores like Whole Foods.

Place the young coconut meat, soaked cashews, agave nectar, maple syrup, coconut water, melted cacao butter, hazelnut liqueur, coffee extract, vanilla bean seeds and salt in a high speed blender like a Vita Mix or Blend-tec. It’s important to use one of these blenders so that you can blend the ingredients super smooth. Blend everything until completely smooth. You may need to stop a few times to scrape the sides and to make sure everything gets incorporated. If the mixture is too thick, you can add a tablespoon or two more of coconut water or regular water. Try to keep it as thick as you can and totally smooth. Scrape the contents into a large mixing bowl. Add the cocoa powder and whisk it in the mixture until completely dispersed. It’s best to mix the cocoa powder in by hand because otherwise the mixture would be too thick for the blender. Pour the filling over the crust in the spring form pan and chill until set, 2-3 hours.

Blackberry Sauce:

1 pint fresh blackberries

2 tablespoons agave nectar

1 tablespoon lemon juice

Pinch of sea salt

Blend together the blackberries, agave nectar, lemon juice and salt. Strain the mixture to remove the seeds.

Keep the cake chilled until ready to serve. Top with blackberry sauce.